Abstract
To clarify the interrelations between various semi-natural grassland types (verge meadows, ditch walls, paddy levees, fallow fields, abandoned rice fields and farm roads) maintained by traditional agricultural management methods, we conducted vegetation investigation in a ‘Yatsuda’ rural landscape, and compared species richness between the grassland types using the rarefaction method. Each grassland type was characterized by indicator species extracted by INSPAN and life-form composition of the grassland types were compared. The results of rarefaction method showed that the paddy levees located between paddy field and hillslope were species-rich grassland habitat, as rich as the verge meadows which were cutting grassland adjacent to woodland. The abandoned rice fields, the verge meadows and the paddy levees were consisted of different species groups, and similarity indices were not large between these grassland types. Therefore, in Yatsuda rural landscapes, we suggested that the different types of grasslands should be maintained by traditional agricultural management methods for conserving plant diversity.
